SAINT JOHN, NB --- The blazing hot Saint John Sea Dogs burned the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies for six goals at Harbour Station on Saturday night, picking up their tenth consecutive win in the process.Benjamin Lecomte (2), Steven Anthony, Olivier Ouellet, Danick Gauthier, and Mike Hoffman all scored for the Sea Dogs in the highly-impressive home win, while playmaker extraordinaire Michael Kirkpatrick dished out a pair of assists on the night. Rouyn-Noranda's offensive production, meanwhile, came courtesy of Jerome Raymond and Dmitri Kostromitin.
Between the pipes, Karel St-Laurent made 28 saves to record the sixth victory of his sophomore season while Mickael Audette suffered his eleventh defeat of 2009-10 after allowing three goals in eleven-and-a-half minutes of action.
Saint John got off to a quick start on Saturday, as Olivier Ouellet managed to bank in a shot from behind the Rouyn-Noranda net early in the first period to give his team a 1-0 lead. Benjamin Lecomte scored in similar fashion a few minutes later, picking up his first of the year on a close-range pass attempt which pinballed its way to the back of the Huskies' net.
The Sea Dogs' leading scorer then got in on the action midway through the opening frame, as Steven Anthony beat Audette through the five-hole at the end of a well-orchestrated down-ice rush with to register his 12th goal of the season.
Audette was pulled after Anthony's goal, with Jessy Lecours taking over between the pipes for the visitors. Lecours was able to prevent the home team from adding to their lead throughout the duration of period number one, turning aside all four shots sent his way by Sea Dogs shooters as the Huskies entered the first intermission trailing by three.
The second period saw neither team scoring on 13 combined shots, with both St-Laurent and Lecours standing their ground throughout the stanza as the score remained 3-0 in Saint John's favour as Saturday's match reached the forty minute mark.
Ottawa Senators prospect Mike Hoffman gave the Sea Dogs a four-goal lead 6:04 into the third period, accepting a pass whilst all alone in front of Rouyn-Noranda's net and faking out Lecours with some nifty deking manoeuvres prior to tucking home his ninth of the year on his forehand. A long-range wrist shot off the stick of Benjamin Lecomte put the hosts up 5-0 a minute later, giving the 19-year old rearguard tallied his second of the night.
The Huskies put an end to St-Laurent's shutout bid at the 7:32 mark of regulation's final frame, as Jerome Raymond shovelled in his fourth of the year after a lengthy scramble in Saint John's zone to put Rouyn-Noranda on the scoreboard. Three minutes later, a booming slap shot from import defenseman Dmitri Kostromitin doubled the Huskies' goal total, giving Rouyn-Noranda a modicum of hope as they were suddenly back to within three of their opponents.
Danick Gauthier put an end to any thoughts of a comeback with 5:38 remaining in the third period however. The 18-year old forward beat Lecours cleanly on a high snap shot after being sprung in on a breakaway by Team Captain Mike Thomas. Gauthier's goal, his sixth of the season, proved to be the final offensive strike of the match, as Saint John cruised to victory from there on in, taking the decision by a 6-2 final to improve to 18-4-1-0 on the season.
These two teams will meet again on Sunday afternoon on Support Our Troops Day at Harbour Station. The puck drops at 4:00pm as the Sea Dogs seek to earn their eleventh straight victory on home ice versus the Huskies. Tickets to this match are available by calling the arena box office at 657-1234.
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